YOUR AD HERE »

Park City Mountain and Deer Valley kick off season with snowy slopes and a philanthropic lift

The Park Record editorial, Dec. 3-6, 2016

PR

Parkites and visitors are smiling this week. The sky is blue, the slopes are white and the resorts are open. In Park City, when the lifts are running, everyone is happy — local business owners, kids, grownups, competitive athletes and fun seekers from around the world.

But the town’s ski resorts, Deer Valley and Park City, contribute more to the community than meets the eye.

Wednesday evening a steady stream of locals gathered underground, appropriately, to celebrate a cooperative effort to preserve several historic mining sites at Park City Mountain. The restoration work, undertaken by a new nonprofit, Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History, has received substantial support from the resort and guests were urged to add their contributions in exchange for enticing on-mountain incentives.

But there was more holiday cheer to go around, too. During the festivities, Vail Resorts distributed $2 million in grants to 31 Summit and Wasatch County nonprofits. Arts Kids, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Kimball Art Center, the National Ability Center and the Park City Ski Education Foundation were among the youth and environmentally centric groups that received early Christmas gifts this year thanks to Vail’s EpicPromise program.

Deer Valley Resort, which opens this weekend, also celebrates the start of the season with a philanthropic commitment. Proceeds from the resort’s popular Celebrity Ski Fest taking place Saturday and Sunday will be donated to the Waterkeeper Alliance, a global environmental group dedicated to protecting water resources.

Also, throughout the year, Deer Valley supports over 250 organizations with in-kind donations and more than 25 local nonprofits with direct contributions. Some of those beneficiaries include: the Youth Sports Alliance, the National Ability Center, the Summit Land Conservancy, the Christian Center of Park City and Recycle Utah.

Park City may still be, in many ways, a company town when it comes to the ski industry. But unlike the mining overlords of the past, Park City and Deer Valley have proven themselves to be dedicated community partners and for that – along with the snow — we have a lot to celebrate.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Park City and Summit County make the Park Record's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.